A Scotland Yard officer denied killing newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests when he appeared in court today charged with manslaughter.

Mr Tomlinson, a homeless 47-year-old, collapsed and died on the fringes of demonstrations in central London on April 1 2009.

Pc Simon Harwood, a father of two, showed no emotion as he stood in the dock at Southwark Crown Court in south London to enter his ‘not guilty’ plea. Relatives of Mr Tomlinson gasped from the public gallery as Harwood, 40, denied the allegation against him.

‘You are charged on this indictment with manslaughter, that on April 1 2009, you unlawfully killed Ian Tomlinson.